Drew steigee



UNITED STATES PATENT @rrrca JUDSON RICE AND ANDREW STEIGER, OF SAN JOSE,AND ISAAC L. THUR- BER, OF SANTA CRUZ, CALIFORNIA.

PROCESS OF WORKING AND USING ASPHALTUM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,125, dated June 2,1885.

Application filed October 2, 1884.

T 0 all whom it may concern.-

Be itknown that we, Jonson RICE and AN- DREW STEIGER,'1eSidiI1g at thecity of San J os, county of Santa Clara, and ISAAC LANE THURBER,residing at the city of Santa Cruz, county of Santa Cruz, all in theState of California, have invented a new, useful, and Improved Processfor Working and Using Asphaltum; and we do hereby declare the fol lowingto be a full, clear, and exact description of our invention.

There are large bituminous deposits in California known as asphaltumwhich is used for various purposes, but principally for roofingbuildings, in paving streets and sidewalks, and for basement-floors.

The only process for working asphaltum heretofore in use has been toheat it in an open iron receptacle with coal-tar or some oily substanceor ingredient, and when in a liquid state to mix it with gravel orcoarse sand and subject the combination to an inintense heat untilthoroughly cooked, and then to apply it in a dissolved or liquid stateto the uses for which it was intended. By this process the naturalqualities of the asphaltum were destroyed, the action of the firevolatilizing and evaporating portions of its valuable constituents,rendering it brittle and porous, and when exposed to the heat of thesun, or to moisture of any kind, it would crumble and decompose.

The object of our invention is to prepareasphaltum for the purposes ofroofing buildings, for paving streets and sidewalks, for basementfloors,and all other purposes for which it is now commonly used by a newprocess heretofore unknown or used, and to preserve the natural elasticand adhesive properties contained in asphaltum in its native statewithout the addition of coal-tar, oil, or any other oily substancewhatever, and to reduce the expense of handling it.

(No specimens.)

To carry out our invention, we take the asphaltum in its native stateand soften it or dissolve it by the aid of hot water, steam, orsuperheated steam, and when dissolved or in a plastic state to apply itto the uses for which it is intended. We then press it with a heavy ironor rollers heated for that purpose. but 52 not to a temperature thatwould burn the material, which gives it a smooth surface and renders itcompact and solid.

When the asphaltum is dissolved or softened by our process, clean sandmay be added, if 55 desired, to give it the proper consistency; butWithout the addition of sand or other ingredient We can also useasphaltum by our process for making fioor-tilin g by placing thematerial in molds and subjecting it to pressure which gives it a firmsolid form with a smooth surface which is susceptable of a fine polish.

In our process of working asphaltum we use an ordinary steam-boiler forsupplying the hot water, steam, or superheated steam,

secondly, pressing it under heated rollers or 7 5 other heated irons,substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JUDSON RICE. ANDRE? STEIGER. ISAAC L. THUR-BER.

Witnesses:

SAMUEL P. Howns, J r., D. D. TnNNYsoN.

